October 15
Reading: Job 24
1 “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,
and why do those who know him never see his days?
2 Some move landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They thrust the poor off the road;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
the poor go out to their toil, seeking game;
the wasteland yields food for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field,
and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9 There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
and they take a pledge against the poor.
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil;
they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
12 From out of the city the dying groan,
and the soul of the wounded cries for help;
yet God charges no one with wrong.
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways,
and do not stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises before it is light,
that he may kill the poor and needy,
and in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
and he veils his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.
17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18 “You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion is cursed in the land;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered,
so wickedness is broken like a tree.’
21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported,
and his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like the heads of grain.
25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”
You may have heard that Job raises the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Here Job is raising the question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”
In verse 1 Job presents his question about God to his friends. Why does Gob not show up in wrath upon the wicked? Why do the righteous not see His judgment?
In verses 2-12 Job tells us that the wicked take advantage of the poor and make them their slaves. God seems not to bring them to justice. In verses 13-17 Job observes that the wicked murder the poor, commit adultery, rob houses, and carouse in the night. Nothing bad happens to them. In verses 18-20 Job tells us that the wicked get what is coming to them, when they die. In verses 21-25 Job says that wicked men keep on abusing widows, defeating the valiant, and God seems to bless them. Then they are brought low, at the end. Isn’t this how it is?
Why doesn’t God stop the wicked and judge them before they are dead and gone? Why doesn’t He judge them right out where everyone can see?
It is a good question. Why? Why doesn’t God just slay the wicked right away?
Well, consider this. If God did so, how many of us would last very long? 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” It is a good thing that the Lord is longsuffering or maybe none of us would be saved. Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is leads you to repentance?”
And why do the righteous suffer?
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith– more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire– may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9
And still Job’s question about why God has sent disaster upon him goes unanswered.